Texas woman sentenced to five years for attempted drowning of Muslim child
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Elizabeth Wolf was sentenced to five years in prison for attempting to drown a three-year-old Palestinian-American Muslim girl in May 2024.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON - A Texas woman was sentenced to five years in prison for attempting to drown a three-year-old Palestinian-American Muslim girl in a May 2024 incident that local police said was motivated by racial bias.
Court records and proceedings cited by CBS News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram showed Judge Andy Porter sentenced Elizabeth Wolf, 43, after she pleaded guilty to attempted murder and injury to a child.
Wolf was indicted in 2024 after the attack, which was condemned by then-president Joe Biden, and waived a trial by jury.
Why it’s important
Human rights advocates note rising threats against American Muslims, Arabs and Jews since the start of Israel’s assault on Gaza after a 2023 Hamas attack.
The incident occurred at an apartment complex swimming pool in Euless, Texas. Wolf argued with the mother of the three-year-old girl. The mother was also at the pool with her six-year-old son, and Wolf asked where they were from, a police report said.
Wolf tried to drown the three-year-old and attempted to grab the six-year-old, the report said. The mother pulled her daughter from the water and the children were medically cleared after medics responded.
Other US incidents
Recent incidents raising anti-Muslim bias concerns include the fatal stabbing of a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy in Illinois, the stabbing of a Palestinian-American man in Texas and a violent mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesters in California.
There was also the shooting of two Israeli visitors in Florida whom a suspect mistook for Palestinians and an assault by a pro-Israeli mob in New York City that chanted “Death to Arabs”.
Incidents raising alarm over antisemitism and anti-Israeli attitudes include the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington, a Colorado attack that killed one person and an arson attack on Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s residence. REUTERS
